The Knights Kronicha
The Knights Kronicha was an ancient and prestigious society of guardians that had existed in full since 3198 with the main objective of opposing and eventually eliminating the Order of the Knights Defixius. Over many centuries, millions had served and died in countless conflicts against the Defixius. Originally founded by the monks of Leinettes, the order held its highest numbers in the year 3211 when it was believed that the Defixius had been eliminated. After the destruction of the Defixius, the Knights Kronicha began to downsize drastically, only to begin recruiting once more when the Defixius reappeared publicly in 3218. The Kronicha was at its smallest size during the War of the West when, with only three knights, they assisted the Knights of Vall in overthrowing King Heiden of Roravine. For the majority of the order's existence, Leinettes served as the base of operations, however the Kronicha had smaller headquarters located throughout western Radorah, Wheründia, Bryuland, Kellerian, and many other locations. History Origins Foundations of the Knights Kronicha have existed long before the order was formally created. It is believed that sometime in or around the year of 930, while the Lexicons of Baltora were being inscribed, Father Lein of the Baltorian Monastery began to set aside certain monks to begin training as warrior monks. These warrior monks would go on to act as guards and played a crucial role in the protection of the Temple of Leinettes during its construction. There is little recorded history about the whereabouts of what happened to these warrior monks after the Radoran Baltorian Monastery was absorbed into the Order of Leinettes. However it was not long after creation of the Order of Leinettes that the temple became the centralized hub of all Baltorian religion on the globe, making it an important target for both Baltorian pilgrims and ill-willed infidels meaning to cause harm. The importance of the site soon caused it to grow out of hand, and the first Master of Leinettes - Master Kruthaige would eventually be captured, tortured, and executed by nomadic Pyrtoralan Warlords, rendering the temple exposed and unprotected for several months. Because Leinettes was extremely isolated and far from civilization, it took a great deal of organizing and planning to reclaim it from the Pyrtoralan Warlords. With assistance from the nation of Althoria and the cities of Kingsport and Sempir Vertus the temple was reclaimed and given back to the monks. Several guards from these allied forces were permanently posted at the temple and soon came to be known as the Guardians of Leinettes. They eventually lost ties to their original armies and became everlasting forces of Leinettes. Rise Although the Guardians of Leinettes expanded substantially over several hundred years, the Masters of Leinettes found it difficult at times to order their devout followers to engage in combat when deemed necessary. Because of this, an apparent need for a militant order of monks within the Order of Leinettes was clear, especially after the order found difficulty in calling others into action against the Knights Defixius. The rise and success of the Knights Defixius led the Master of Leinettes at the time - Master Kronichius, to order the creation of such a force, officially titling them the Knights of Kronichius. The Knights of Kronichius swore undying allegiance only to the Master of Leinettes and to Lord Baltora. Their name would eventually evolve into the Knights Kronicha after the passing of the title of Master from Kronichius to Eryn, who chose not to name the Knights after herself, but instead to establish their name as a permanent homage to the creator. Although it is unknown as to when the Knights Defixius was originally founded. Originally a Baltorian order, the Defixius came under much scrutiny in 3196 when they began to sack towns and cities along the west coast of Bryuland and the east coast of Radorah particularly with the siege of the holy city of Brathenhan, where they then committed mass genocide for several years. By 3199, the Order of the Knights Kronicha were nearly 6,000 strong, but only a fraction of the size of the Defixius. The first members were mainly transcripts from the Guardians of Leinettes, but also included several devout Baltorian warriors from across allied armies, as well as defectors from the Knights Defixius who disagreed with the new leadership. Most of the Deixius order was quickly ousted from Radorah by the Kronicha The Knights Kronicha soon established a newer and even larger headquarters in Hunderschön, which was planned as the base of all operations in Wheründia and Bryuland until it besieged by the Defixius before the end of its completion in 3205. After a long and costly battle, the Kronicha were forced to flee their headquarters, which was captured by the Defixius and repurposed into their own headquarters. The remaining Knights Kronicha fled east to Heidesbern, establishing a new, but vastly inferior and smaller headquarters deep in the Heidessian Mountains about one hundred miles north of Lone Oak. The remnants of these knights would go on to become the Heidessian Faction of the Knights Kronicha after the order's restructuring. Global Power Later in the year of 3205, focus shifted back to the original order in Radorah as it became apparent that the Knights Defixius was attempting to persist. The order grew significantly under Master Eryn's rule and they eventually grew large enough to attack and mostly destroy what was believed to be the main fortress of the Defixius in Steade Stone. After the destruction of the fortress in Steade Stone known as Defixius Fortress and the capture of Defixius Overlord Alladista Strassen, the Kronicha were recognized globally as a legitmate order and they gained a vast amount of support, allowing them to expand a great deal. Over the next couple of years, the order would go on to establish bases of operations and entirely new factions in West Canterloria - Kellerian, Professorius - Eldaragest, and Gardholdian Forest, Florilège. These, as well as the previously established faction in Heidesbern gave the order five different headquarters. After establishing these new factions, Grand Master Eryn appointed a commander for each and assembled them all in the Krelhettan Gulf, from where they launched an attack to retake their old castle in Hunderschön. Most of the rogue remnants of the Knights Defixius were at the castle in Hunderschön, but due to their small number, lack of funding, and disorganization, had began to weaken, casuing them to quickly surrender upon the return of the Kronicha. Now back under Kronichan control, the castle was named Castle Kronicha and became the main bae of military operations for the order in 3211. Grand Master Eryn retired from service the following year.